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A Suburban Woman for Trump stands outside a Trump rally at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 7th, the last day of the 2016 US presidential campaign. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A Cuban American shows his support for Donald Trump at the candidates last appearance in North Carolina on the day before the election. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

At a Trump rally in Raleigh, North Carolina a man wears a shirt in support of the 2nd Amendment, the Right to bear arms. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A large crowd of Trump supporters surround the stage at a Trump rally at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 7th, the last day of the 2016 US presidential campaign. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

After a long and contentious campaign that started in June 2015, Donald Trump makes his final appeals to the public on the day before the presidential election. His second to last stop on the campaign trail is Raleigh, North Carolina, a state with a very divided electorate where both candidates have been polling at a dead-heat over the last few days. Trump has made over a half-dozen appearances in North Carolina in the last two weeks of the campaign.

Trump was very clear of his intention to draw women voters who showed up in force, along with many young supporters and families. Approximately 5000 people attended the event, a crowd that was lively, but not overly raucous as it has been in previous Trump events in North Carolina. Special guest, Mike Huckabee waved to the crowd and posed for photos, but oddly did not come to the stage when beckoned by Trump, who spoke for around 45 minutes.

A vendor sells Trump merchandise outside of a rally for the Republican Presidential candidate in Selma, North Carolina. Selma is in Johnston County, approximately 30 miles outside of Raleigh, the state capital. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A couple lay in the grass awaiting the arrival of Donald Trump. They are from Smithfield and support Trump for his defense of the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms.) AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

Trump supporters stand at sunset awaiting the Republican Presidential candidate to speak at a rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

The face of Donald Trump sticks out of the back pocket of one of his supporters at a rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A mother and her son await Donald Trump at a rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A Trump supporter views the stage with binoculars while waiting for the Republican Presidential candidate to speak at a rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A great diversity of people attended the Trump rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A Trump supporter dressed in a Confederate flag shirt shows his support for Donald Trump at a rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A supporter looks on at a Trump rally in Selma, North Carolina. There has been a surprising turnout of young middle class supporters to support Donald Trump in his campaign for presidency. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

A woman awaits Donald Trump to address the crowd at a rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

Trump supporters reach for hats thrown to the crowd at a rally for the candidate in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

Two women proudly support Donald Trump at a rally in Selma, North Carolina. AztlanPhoto /Peter Eversoll

The Donald Trump Presidential campaign has been making many visits to North Carolina during the final weeks before the election given the state’s status as a swing state. On November 3rd, Trump held a rally in Selma, an agricultural town located in Johnston County, approximately 30 miles from Raleigh, the state capital. This is “Trump Territory” given the area reflects his strongest demographic of support: white middle class males without a college education. Another signal of his dominance in this area was the turnout, an estimated 5000 people.

The principal theme of the event was the military and the Trump team had several veterans speak and brought onstage twenty generals and admirals, plus another 12 Medal of Honor recipients to serve as a backdrop for Trump. Also very notable was the presence of “Women for Trump” supporters, a coach bus with that exact slogan on the side, pulled up and emptied excited women carrying pink signs. While waiting for Trump to appear, several local politicians praised the candidate and Rolling Stones songs played on repeat over the PA system along with a recorded message of how the crowd should deal with protesters “surround them, raise your signs and chant ‘Trump.’”

Surprisingly, there were many families, youth, people of color and well-dressed folks in attendance, a broad mix of supporters that challenges many pre-conceived notions about Trump’s greatest and most fervent base. Throughout the nearly 5 hour event, the crowd cheered both happily and angrily, mixing chants of “Trump” with “Lock Her Up” and “Drain the Swamp,” even at one point turning towards the media stage to point fingers and boo. The many “Silent Majority Stands With Trump” signs, however, spoke volumes about what this crowd really had on its mind.